Will the GOP/conservatives sweep New Jersey, Virginia and New York 23?

Monday, 2 Nov 2009 | 4:04 PM ETCNBC.com

SHARES

The Kudlow Caucus

We asked our panel:

Will the GOP/conservatives sweep New Jersey, Virginia and New York 23?

Yes: 7 No: 5

Watch "The Kudlow Report" tonight at 7pm ET and find out what out caucus members have to say about GOP race.

The Kudlow Caucus Breakdown

Jerry Bowyer

Yes Jerry Bowyer Chief Economist, Benchmark Financial Network I'm confident about Virginia and NY 23rd District. New Jersey, not as confident. Christie is the weak link, but he's been listening to Kudlow and has come out with stronger tax cutting rhetoric, so his chances are improving. This is the nation's first report card on Obama, and he's about to get the first F of his life.

Keith Boykin

No Keith Boykin Fmr. Clinton White House Aide / The Daily Voice Editor Republicans and conservatives have been at war with themselves in New York (Scozzafava v. Hoffman) and New Jersey (Christie v. Daggett), so any outcome will divide the party. They will probably win Virginia, but that's not saying much.

Vince Farrell

No Vince Farrell Scotsman Capital Management Corzine will win in NJ but with less than 45% of the vote so the GOP will declare a moral victory. The bigger race for the Republican Part is upstate NY. A win there would solidify the conservative claim the party has to stake out a clear anti-tax, anti-spend platform.

Doug Kass

No Doug Kass Presidnt, Seabreeze Partners Management The middle class is getting squeezed and needs to vent any way they can! That said, I look for a Republican victory only in Virginia.

Jim Lacamp

Yes Jim LaCampPortfolio Manager, Portfolio Focus, RBC Wealth Management Co-Host, Opening Bell Radio Show, Biz Radio Network Being that the polls are all indicating this, and that anti-incumbent fever is high, it certainly looks that way. Blaming Bush is backfiring as is promoting big government solutions.

Art Laffer

Yes Art LafferFmr. Reagan Economic Advisor Chief Investment Officer, Laffer Investments The only one up in the air is New Jersey.

Donald Luskin

Yes Donald L. LuskinChief Investment Officer, Trend Macrolytics LLC It’s still possible that Corzine will prevail in NJ. But if so, it will be a near thing. Even with that win, the Dems will have to face the fact that they had to use extraordinary measures to get even that. A year after the Obama landslide, the bloom is definitely off the rose no matter how it turns out. That won’t stop the Dems from bragging about it – but it will be hollow boasting, tinged with shame.

Regardless of your political beliefs, you should hope for the GOP tomorrow. One-party rule is not healthy, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s the Dems or the GOP who do the ruling. We need to restore political balance .

Steve Moore

Yes Steve Moore Sr. Economics Writer, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Republicans will win all three and a lot of other legislative races, as there is a big backlash against Obamanomics. This is the first opportunity for the Tea Partyers to put their rage to work.

James Pethokoukis

Yes James PethokoukisMoney & Politics Columnist Reuters After a generation-long boom, Americans don't have much patience with economic downturns. While they may not blame Obama for the recesion, they also don't seem to think he has made the right moves to restore prosperity with unemployment nearing 10 percent. Actually, they don't have much faith in incumbents in general at this point.

This means the "change" wave which helped Obama and the Dems a year ago is now working against them. Plus, the record deficits and unprecedented government interventions seem to be so far out of mainstream American experience that they have created additional among voters. So score three for the non-Democrats, whether they have the label "Republican" or "Conservative".

Robert Reich

No Robert ReichFormer Labor Secretary Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley Corzine will be reelected in New Jersey. He’s got the brains, money, and firepower to stay in office, even under these awful economic times. GOP will take Virginia and NY 23, but not because of a GOP/conservative resurgence across America. In fact, polls show Republicans trailing Democrats most places.

Noam Scheiber

Yes Noam ScheiberThe New Republic I think the GOP is poised to sweep all three races. Virginia has been Bob McDonnell's to lose for a while - the way a Democrat wins there is by exciting affluent, educated voters in the DC suburbs and turning out the African American vote. Creigh Deeds, with his bubba appeal, isn't the candidate to do either. In New Jersey, Corzine has recently benefited from the presence of a third party candidate, but it looks like that candidate is fading in the homestretch and his supporters are moving into the Christie column. In upstate NY, GOP nominee Scozzafava's endorsement of the Democrat, Owens, could lead to some last-minute tightening, but Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, has all the momentum. Broadly speaking, I think it's more a function of idiosyncratic circumstances--deeply flawed Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, and a generally crazy race in New York--than deeper problems for the Dems nationally. But it's obviously not a good sign for them.

Lynn Tilton

No Lynn TiltonCEO, Patriarch Partners In Virginia’s Governors race and NY-23, a strong and energized conservative base will overwhelm weak Democratic candidates. In NJ, however, Corzine has drawn even in the race after President Obama lent his star power to the beleaguered Democratic governor who had previously trailed his Republican challenger, Chris Christie. While Christie still has a chance, Obama won 57% of the vote in NJ last November and his presence campaigning for Corzine, along with a strong independent candidate who will siphon votes from Christie, may constitute a sufficient force to push Corzine over the top.